A MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
May 15th, 2020
Dear Colleague,

It is truly heartbreaking to see the massive devastation the COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted worldwide. As of the writing of this message, nearly 300,000 people have died. It is impossible to wrap one’s mind around such a number, but it is important for all of us to remember that each person is a precious life lost and a profound tragedy for that person’s family and friends.

CUGH has been working hard to aggregate useful information that can help colleagues around the world to curb the pandemic’s progression and improve the care of those who are infected. We have also used our platform to draw attention to the needs of the poor and disadvantaged who are at greatest risk from the virus.

In this bulletin you will find our webinars, advocacy efforts and links to our weekly COVID-19 newsletter, which we hope you will use and share widely. We are also standing up two task forces. One will address the challenges the virus presents to academia’s educational activities. The other will identify solutions to address the economic impact the virus is having on the academic sector in general and to global health programs more specifically. Of course, we remain confronted by ongoing global challenges from environmental threats to NCDs and more. We are continuing our efforts to address these and other threats to people and our planet. We must not let up our efforts to address them.

Above all, we hope you and yours stay safe during these challenging times.

Best wishes,




Keith Martin, MD, PC
Executive Director
Consortium of Universities for Global Health
CUGH Events & Updates
CUGH'S LEADERSHIP UPDATES

The most recently elected members to CUGH's Board of Directors officially began their three-year terms in May. During this transition, six members also rotated off the Board. All board members are volunteers who are elected to serve by CUGH’s institutional member representatives.

The new board members are: 
  • Dr. Maureen Litchveld, Professor and the Freeport McMoran Chair on Environmental Policy, Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
  • Dr. Agnes Binagwaho, Vice Chancellor, University of Global Health Equity
  • Dr. Gavin Yamey, Director of the Center for Policy Impact in Global Health, Duke’s Global Health Institute
  • Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, Director of ICAP and Director of the Global Health Initiative at Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University

Those re-elected are:
  • Prof. Virginia Rowthorn, Executive Director of the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s Center for Global Education Initiatives, University of Maryland, Baltimore
  • Dr. Quentin Eichbaum, Director of the Vanderbilt Pathology Program in Global Health, Vanderbilt University

In addition:
  • Irene Koek, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, joined the board as an ex-officio representative from USAID 
  • Priscilla Auguste will sit on the Board as Chair of CUGH’s Trainee Advisory Committee (TAC)

CUGH is also pleased to announce its Executive Committee members for 2020-2022:
  • Board Chair: Dr. Michele Barry, Senior Associate Dean of Global Health, Stanford University
  • Vice-Chair: Dr. Joe Kolars, Senior Associate Dean for Education and Global Initiatives, University of Michigan Medical School
  • Secretary/Treasurer: Dr. Phil Landrigan, Director of the Global Public Health Program and Global Pollution Observatory, Boston College
  • Chair Emeritus: Dr. Ann Kurth, Dean, School of Nursing, Yale University

CUGH is deeply grateful to those members rotating off the board. They include:
  • Dr. Pierre Buekens, CUGH’s Chair Emeritus, Former Dean School of Public Health, Director of the Center for Emerging Reproductive and Perinatal Epidemiology, Tulane University
  • Dr. Trish Davidson, Dean, School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University
  • Dr. Pat Conrad, Associate Dean for Global Programs, Professor of Parasitology, UC Davis Veterinary Medicine
  • Prof. Peggy Bentley, CUGH’s past Secretary/Treasurer, Associate Dean for Global Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina
  • Dr. Matt Barnhart, CUGH’s past Ex-Officio Member, Medical Officer, USAID
  • Dr. Tasdik Hasan Dip, Outgoing Chair, TAC

With regards to her role as CUGH’s Board Chair, Dr. Barry stated, “The Consortium of Universities for Global Health is an extraordinary partnership and plays a very important role in global health, especially during the global COVID-19 pandemic which is disproportionately affecting underserved communities around the world. I am honored to have been nominated for the role of Board Chair. I look forward to working with the Board and the Secretariat to tackle the strategic priorities and obstacles that our members are facing, in order to sustain the achievements we have made in global health.”

On CUGH’s Board transitions, Dr. Keith Martin, CUGH’s Executive Director said, “I would like to extend my deep gratitude to our outgoing board members who served with distinction in successfully helping us to advance our mission. I would also like to welcome our new board members. We look forward to working with them in this new, challenging environment to improve the health of people and our environment and address the challenges to academic global health programs.”  

We are sending weekly newsletters with resources specific to COVID-19. If you know of relevant guidelines, advocacy efforts, and other resources to share with our network, please send them to info@cugh.org . All newsletters are archived on our website . We hope these will be useful to you in your professional and personal capacities in addressing the pandemic's effects.

Oral abstracts that were due to be presented at the 2020 CUGH conference have been published in a special issue of The Lancet Global Health . The issue also includes an opening comment by its Editor-in-Chief, Zo ë  Mullan, and Dr. Keith Martin on the role of academia in an era of political turmoil .

On May 8th, the US Senate introduced the “COVID-19 International Response and Recovery Act” (CIRRA). This comprehensive bill allocates $9 billion (US) to strengthen the international community’s response to COVID-19. CUGH strongly urges Congress to pass CIRRA and for President Trump to quickly sign the bill into law. CUGH’s Executive Director Dr. Keith Martin stated, “Pandemics know no borders. The failure to take a multinational response to address COVID-19 threatens every nation. CIRRA asserts the US leadership the world needs in combating this global, public heath catastrophe.”

In a letter from CUGH's leadership to US Congress, CUGH denounced President Trump's decision to halt funding to the World Health Organization and called on all congresspersons to work to reinstate these funds. Cutting funding to the WHO will eviscerate its capacity to address the current pandemic and the many other public health challenges the world faces.

The CUGH Capacity Building Subcommittee, part of the Education Committee, is recruiting new members. Their mandate is to help strengthen CUGH’s activities across global health research, education and service; make recommendations concerning improving CUGH’s activities; gather and disseminate information on good practices, training modules, opportunities and research; facilitate partnership development; improve articulation and coordination of GH activities between member institutions, and consider any additional matters requested by CUGH’s Secretariat and Board of Directors. Application deadline: June 15, 2020

CUGH's Executive Director, Dr. Keith Martin, moderated the 2020 ASPPH Virtual Annual Meeting session,  Legal Determinants of Health: Implications for Public Health and Global Health Education. Speakers included Georgetown University and Report co-author, Prof. John Monahan, the CDC's Montrece Ransom, and Dr. Sabina Faiz Rashid, Dean of BRAC University School of Public Health.

The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of science. Here are tips to effectively communicate with your government officials. CUGH has gathered a variety of webinars, documents, and online training modules (free of cost) that center on best practices for effective communications.

Listen the latest episode from our partners at the PHI/CDC Global Health Fellowship Program . It features Riley Wagner, MPH, a Global Program Management Fellow for CDC’s Center for Global Health Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Riley was the first of currently 24 Fellows to be assigned to CDC’s Emergency Operations Center in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Riley discusses her experience on the EOC and elaborates on her work with the Cruise Ship Task Force.

Sustaining Technical and Analytic Resources (STAR) is accepting applications for its open fellowship and internship positions in South Africa, Malawi, and the United States.
News & External Events

Join the World Health Assembly for its virtual side event, " Transforming the Global Health Workforce Through Gender Balanced Leadership," on Wednesday May 20, 2020 10am - 11:30am (EDT) / 4 pm- 5:30 pm CET.

In this session, speakers will present the state of women’s leadership in the health and social sector, and perhaps most importantly how the sector can be doing better. A policy brief on leadership within the health and social sector will be presented, putting forth the tools needed to achieve gender transformative policies and promote women’s leadership in the health and social workforce. The policy brief presented will provide practical examples as well as guidance for policymakers to incorporate gender equity into health and social workforce policies. The interactive panel will explore opportunities to advance women’s leadership in the health workforce.

The Surgical Services Management webinar series is for the entire healthcare community including leaders in hospitals, and explores aspects of the surgical ecosystem to equip participants to better utilize systems skills.

 Join the University of Utah Center for Global Surgery on June 2 nd , at 3 pm GMT,  for its next webinar, “Leadership & Management in Surgical Healthcare in Low Resource Settings." Now, more than ever, we need strengthened surgical systems. Clinicians and managers improve their skills in teamwork, and healthcare leadership must set the tone and support the teams. In the webinar, University of Utah Global Health Director, Juan Carlos Negrette, MBA will discuss the skills unique to the various roles as well guidelines for collaboration and conflict management. Along with the host, Dr. Catherine deVries, they will discuss leadership, management, tools for setting and implementing strategy, and common problems that arise in all hospital settings.  Register at  bit.ly/surgmgmt

The NIEHS Global Environmental Health Program announced a new lecture series on Climate, Environment, and Health. A series of seminars for NIEHS staff and the broader NIEHS stakeholder community will offer compelling scientific talks on climate science, how changes in the global climate affect health through a variety of environmental pathways, and promising research approaches to better understand how the changes we see in climate impact health now and in the future.

The first lecture, which featured Dr. John Balbus and was titled “How Climate Changes Health and Why You Should Care,” is now available for viewing.

AFREhealth is pleased to share its first edition of its quarterly newsletter, which provides updates on AFREhealth activities. Recordings of its monthly COVID-19 webinar series are also available here .

The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) is pleased to announce an exciting opportunity for faculty and students to share their work and ideas during the Catalyze 2021 Conference, March 4-6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. Proposals for educational sessions should be submitted no later than September 11, 2020 . The theme of the 2021 conference is “Catalyze 2021: Connect & Innovate in the Face of Global Challenges.”

Because of the commitment to ensure access to education around pressing public health issues, Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) now offers a free, online Mini-MPH. The Mini-MPH provides foundational knowledge in public health to all interested learners. The program includes six hours of engaging, online content that covers key concepts of public health, with expert faculty, accessible to everyone.

The Barcelona Institute for Global Health, ISGlobal, has updated the following courses:

SRI Executive is a global Executive Search and Strategy consulting practice specialising in the International Development, Global Health, Sustainability, Development Finance and Education sectors. CUGH Member institutions work at the intersection of four of its focus areas: International Development, Sustainability, Global Health and Education.
Job & Funding Opportunities

The Carter Center, a pioneer and global leader in public health, seeks candidates for its Vice President, Health Programs position. The VP Health will lead in the accomplishment of current ambitious goals, and will envision the next critical global health challenges the Center will confront. The VP Health leads a talented, committed global team of over 2,000 staff members, 54 based in the U.S., and represents the Center’s health programs at national and international meetings and events. The VP Health will shape and implement a strategic vision for Carter Center Health Programs, communicate effectively and build relationships with all Health Programs’ stakeholders.

The position is based near downtown Atlanta, GA. See the flyer for more information. To apply or suggest a prospective candidate, email cartercenter@BoardWalkConsulting.com.

The  International Cancer Control Partnership  (ICCP) Cancer Control ECHO Program (ICCP ECHO) seeks to support utilization of evidence in National Cancer Control Plan implementation in low- and middle-income countries through development of a virtual community of practice using the  Project ECHO  technology-enabled collaborative learning model. ICCP believes more than ever that this community of practice will be a helpful and supportive initiative as the global cancer community learns and hears about new and innovative ways to address global cancer control during and in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
 
The ICCP ECHO application is now open for individuals and teams from LMICs who are actively implementing a National Cancer Control Plan in their countries. Given the current pandemic and associated shifting priorities, the application will remain open on a rolling basis to give interested parties plenty of time to apply. The link for more information and the application form is  here . Contact  mishka.cira@nih.gov  with any questions.

Stanford University’s Center for Innovation in Global Health and the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, together with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine‘s Centre on Climate Change & Planetary Health, have joined forces to create a new Post-doctoral Fellowship in Planetary Health to support early-career researchers tackling pressing questions in this emerging field.

Planetary health is the health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems on which it depends. Urgent threats to human health arise from the impacts of man-made climate and environmental change including air pollution and the loss of food pollinating insect species. These threats disproportionately affect low-resource communities where people suffer dangerous consequences such as heat stress, reduced access to safe water and undernutrition.

The Fellowship program is open to researchers from anywhere in the world who have completed their doctoral degree within the past three years. The call for applications for the Fellowship in Planetary Health will open in June 2020 and the two-year Fellowship will begin in late 2020/early 2021.

The Fogarty International Center at NIH offers funding to support global health research. Fogarty also offers a variety of resources for those seeking global health research funding across NIH, and from other organizations.

The following three resources from JHU are continuously updated repositories of federal and private funding opportunities for individuals in various elements of their career.
Featured Reading
Has COVID-19 Subverted Global Health?
"For the first time in the post-war history of epidemics, there is a reversal of which countries are most heavily affected by a disease pandemic." Has COVID-19 subverted global health? Read this  The Art of Medicine  essay by Richard Cash & Vikram Patel. Read here .
MEDICC Review Interview with Dr. Michele Barry
Dr. Barry, Board Chair of CUGH, discusses COVID-19 and how human activities have dramatically affected the planet and its environment. Read here .
Global Health Journals & Newsletters
Consortium of Universities for Global Health
202-974-6363 | info@CUGH.org | www.CUGH.org